


The Watch

by akamine_chan



Category: Wilby Wonderful (2004)
Genre: Community: ds_snippets, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-03-16
Updated: 2008-03-16
Packaged: 2017-10-05 09:12:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/40054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akamine_chan/pseuds/akamine_chan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the day, the Watch was just a scraggly stretch of beach on the windy side of the island, comprised mostly of trees and rocks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Watch

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the LiveJournal Community ds_snippets
> 
> Notes: Beta'd by my angstful snippet partner-in-crime, Dugrival, who has a wonderful way of pointing out what I've done wrong without making me feel stupid. Which I appreciate, greatly. *hugs* This is for Brigantine1, for taking the time to read and leave feedback, repeatedly. Also, for making me _see_ [Ray-as-Rikki-Tikki-Tavi](http://community.livejournal.com/ds_flashfiction/572182.html).
> 
> Prompt: allowed

Buddy sat on the hood of his police cruiser, looking down at the Watch, idly smoking a cigarette.

In the day, the Watch was just a scraggly stretch of beach on the windy side of the island, comprised mostly of trees and rocks. It was barren and no one wanted to live there. For generations the land had sat untouched, quiet and lonely.

Nighttime was a different story. At night, the Watch came to life. In his mind, the trees were alive with whispers and hushed moans, muted laughter and the sound of skin on skin. The moonlight reflected off of pale faces, eyes shiny with the sea of stars. The touch of rough, strong hands and the smell of sweat and the sea.

By day, the Watch was like Wilby itself: proper, upright, its passions hidden away. At night, the Watch opened wide, spilled its secrets and took a deep, relieved breath.

Once, when he'd been a young man, he'd asked his father about the clandestine activities down at the Watch. He'd heard things, snatches of conversations caught amid the slam of metal lockers and the idle bragging of teenage boys. He'd heard things about his friend Duck and it had confused him.

His father had taken him for a drive around the island, trying to explain. They'd discussed the need for excitement, for the forbidden, for things that could hurt. They'd talked about human nature. And how Duck was still his friend. His father might have been a simple, small-town cop, but he'd had a bone-deep, nuanced understanding of _people_ that Buddy was still struggling for.

Buddy looked at the Watch and wondered if Duck allowed himself to touch and be touched, to connect with someone in the darkness. He hoped so.

-fin-


End file.
